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The request for proposals delivery to the three finalists for development of the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District state project, which was set for today. has been postponed, according to a news release from NASED.
“The change until early 2022 was necessary as the administration prepared for the demands of the legislative session that begins next month,” said Chris Kinimaka, public works administrator for the Department of Accounting and General Services.
A new facility to replace the original 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, where the University of Hawaii played its home football games from its opening in 1975 to 2020, will be the centerpiece of the project. Construction on the new stadium, at the same Halawa location as the first stadium, is expected to start in 2023, according to the release.
Some high school games were played at the old stadium this fall, but spectators were not allowed due to safety concerns.
NASED is also “expected to include retail, residential, commercial, hotels, hospitality, cultural and community facilities,” the release said.
The stadium project will follow a design-build-finance-maintain model. This means the selected developer team will leverage the $170 million in funding provided by the state Legislature.
UH played its home games this season on campus at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, which can seat 9,000 spectators. An additional 6,000 seats are planned in time for the 2022 season, UH officials have said.
Capacity for the new stadium has yet to be determined, according to NASED.
Aloha Stadium District Partners, Aloha Stadium Hui Hilina’i and Waiola Development Partners are the three developer-led teams that were selected by the state as the three finalists in December 2020.
More information about NASED is available at nased.hawaii.gov.
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